Ellen Verkoelen, faction leader and councilor in the municipality of Rotterdam for the party JOU (formerly 50PLus), looked with surprise at the deal between the municipality and Feijenoord Stadium. The municipality paid almost 12 million euros and De Kuip in turn will stop giving concerts in 2026. The deal was concluded without the involvement of the football club. “There are people in the council chamber who really hate Feyenoord,” she says in Dagblad010.
With the agreement, the municipality of Rotterdam has its hands free for housing construction in the area around De Kuip, while the stadium can pay off the immense debt resulting from the failed new construction plans. The constructed structure is therefore exactly sufficient to pay off the exorbitant loan from Goldman Sachs and keep the stadium standing.
Passed Feyenoord
According to Verkoelen, the one-two punch is not well received by Feyenoord. “The city council is thus bypassing the professional football branch, which, unlike the NV Stadium, has turned things around for the better. The 40 million that the municipality wanted to invest in the stadium years ago as an enticement turns out to be the value of just two contract players with a sound football policy.” Verkoelen therefore thinks it is unfair that the club is not involved in the discussions. “Feyenoord’s professional football branch has long since been able to fend for itself. The NV Stadium does not. Because of her overconfidence and tunnel vision, she is still facing millions in debt and knows that the Goldman Sachs bank is in fact the owner of De Kuip.”
Rancor towards Feyenoord
The municipal councilor suspects resentment among the municipality towards Feyenoord. After the Council of State ruled that Feyenoord City was an unfeasible plan, general manager Dennis te Kloese pulled the plug on the project. He was not appreciated for this at the offices of the town hall. “They therefore refuse to do business with the professional football branch that De Kuip wants to buy,” says Verkoelen.
